Perfect books to gift this holiday season

As the holiday season rolls around, deciding what gifts to buy can sometimes feel stressful and confusing, but books remain a thoughtful and versatile option that can be enjoyed by readers of all ages and interests.

Here is a look at books that are perfect for gift-giving this year:

• Picture book – “Don’t Trust Fish” by Neil Sharpson and illustrated by Dan Santat
• Middle grade – “Trouble With Heroes” by Kate Messner
• Fantasy – “The Hat Diaries” by Nadine Haruni
• Fiction – “Palaver” by Bryan Washington
• Cookbook/Coffee table – “Turtle Island: Foods and Traditions of the Indigenous Peoples of North America” by Sean Sherman
• Nonfiction – “Everything is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection” By John Green

Allie Cesmat, Children’s Department Manager and Book Buyer at Changing Hands Bookstore, joined “Arizona Horizon” to talk about why books are the perfect gift this year.

“It’s been so busy, both stores feel really holly and jolly and full,” Cesmat said, “…and it’s been lovely to hear kids running around, family shopping, just a great time to be in the store.”

One of the books highlighted around the stores is a picture book titled “Don’t Trust Fish,” by Neil Sharpson. Cesmat emphasized how this is her favorite picture book of the year, as it is loved by many around the store.

“It is the funniest, most readable, most quotable picture book that I’ve read in probably years,” Cesmat explained, “…picture books, from my opinion, are never strictly for kids…and this is one that needs to be on everyone’s shelf.”

In the middle grade genre, “Trouble With Heroes,” by Kate Messner, was deemed one of the books to buy this holiday season.

“This book will get any reader to cry, and also want to bake some cookies,” Cesmat said.

According to Cesmat, one of her favorite novels that she read all year was a fiction novel titled “Palaver,” by Bryan Washington.

“…it is gorgeous, it makes you feel like you are walking the streets in Japan at night,” Cesmat explained, “…and it also looks at our families, and how do we forgive, and how do we move forward.”